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Taking Stuff Apart: Panasonic RC-6005B

When I came across this clock the first thing I noticed was that it was branded an "AM-FM DIGITAL CLOCK". This wouldn't be unusual except that there wasn't a single digital component in site, not even an LED. This is a classic "flip" clock with impressive mechanical properties that we would barely consider digital today. Not only that, but twisting the various knobs provide satisfying mechanical clunks and ticks! The thing makes a lot of noise though, so it wasn't approved for use as my nightstand clock.

The internal components of this are very similar to the clock used in the movie "Groundhog Day". Thanks to this clip I can say the actual flip mechanism is probably identical.

Here it is, in all its digital glory. Take note of the bug lodged behind the plastic - this beautiful device is dirty:

I knew this was going to have some great mechanisms in it before starting, but what I didn't know was that these three screws were going to be the only thing holding it together. EVERYTHING inside was on rails and were held in place by the various knobs connected to the components. Amazing.

Here it is after the back was opened, notice the rail holding the PCB in place on the left and the black tube which holds the hole thing in place with the volume knob. You can also see a nice array of gears used to display what station is currently being tuned:

On the opposite side you can see this strange gear (actually two gears, one has a hole in it that the other fits through) which controls the alarm settings (on/off/recurring/etc) and how long the snooze lasts, between 1-60 minutes:

Everything slid out:

The flip mechanism, notice the little black tab holding the hour in place so that it releases exactly as the minutes turn to 00:

I expect this is what causes all the noise, I wonder if this is also used to keep the time:

I wanted to use this as my nightstand clock, so all the dirty pieces took a bath for a few hours, which worked fairly well but needed some additional scrubbing for all the little ridges:

Comments

Hello, I was looking at your blog. A few days ago I bought a panasonic rc-6005B, almost everything works fine, however the switch command is incomplete, small knob above is lost and do not know that it serves.Also, the little light that is below the clock is broken, I don't know what the voltage of the bulbCan you help me?

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Will Winder is a software developer. In his four years of study at UNH he took variety of advanced Computer Science courses including Object Oriented Design, Computer Networks, Artificial Intelligence and Compiler Design. He has been working professionally using C, C++ and Java since graduating in 2006. In his free time he continues to expand his skills by involving himself in many projects, some of which can be seen on this blog.